How Can You Make Science Fun?

If your kids are like most, they can think of about a hundred things they would rather do than school work. It’s funny that Caitlin thinks school is fun while Henry thinks it is anything but. Since we started home schooling Henry, we have found many different ways to teach him. If I fail to capture his attention early on, then I have no chance of him learning much at all. One of the subjects we found he had the most trouble with was science, and after talking to friends, this is a common problem. Here are some great ideas I found to make science fun and more interesting for kids.

Take It To Go: Explore the science that is around you as well as in your community. Many cities have science programs. museums or nature walks.

Experiments: Whenever you see the opportunity, do experiments at home. Look out the window and talk about the weather or bring out the vinegar and baking soda and make a volcano.

Connect The Dots: Sometimes scientific concepts and terms may not make sense to your child. Talk about what they are learning and use common household goods as props. If they are studying matter for example, get out an ice cube and explain how matter works with that principal.

Partner Up: Remember when your parents would say “Look it up” when you asked how to spell a word? Well, use that with your kids when they ask a question. The difference is that you can show them how many resources are available for them to get answers. The internet is a wealth of information just waiting to be tapped into.

What Interests Them: Often times kids will say they do not like science, but will be interested in certain areas. If they like science fiction, give them links to online space exploration games, information and books. If they think dinosaurs are cool, find them a paleontology book at the library or give them a DVD about Science, like the new full length movie with Sid The Science Kid from NCircle Entertainment.

How Can You Make Science Fun?

Henry absolutely loves Sid the Science Kid and we have learned a lot from the show. When I was offered a preview copy of the first full length movie from Sid the Science Kid, I was so looking forward to seeing it. The movie is co produced with The Jim Henson Company as well as Nine Eyes Stone Pictures and Shanghai Animation Film Studios Group from China. The movie includes familiar faces from the show like Sid and his friend Gabriela who win a science contest and are invited to visit The Super Ultimate Science Museum, which is not yet open to the public. Sid, Gabby and the other winners are introduced to the museums founder, Dr. Bonabodon, who is magically voiced by Christopher Lloyd. For the parents in the crowd, at least you get a Back To The Future reference as Dr. Bonabodon looks like Lloyd’s character from the movie.

The good doctor has invented these robots who are going to be the tour guides for the museum. The smartest of the robots is Bobbybot who is also by far the funniest of the robots. Well, Bobbybot takes the kids on a wild adventure where they get to see a ginormous bee hive as well as a room filled with simple machines. It was really fun to see Henry’s face as the kids explored the room and the machines. You could tell he just wished he could be there with them. The movie has a lot of fun facts, moves along at a pretty good pace and has a lot of the Sid jokes that you would expect to see. If your kids love the Sid the Science Kid show, they will love this movie. You can purchase the DVD for $12.99 beginning on April 2nd at all major retail stores as well as Amazon and other online retailers.